Baby Jupiter (CLOSED)

Ask any Leeds resident to point out Baby Jupiter on a map and they’ll almost certainly falter. For the city’s bar that most deserves the title of best-kept secret is well-known by name but so elusive in location that only the determined or the plain lucky actually end up descending the stone steps into the psychedelic underground space. Neighboured by strip clubs and anonymous offices, Baby Jupiter attracts plenty of office workers on a Friday night, but stay a little longer after the sun goes down and you’ll discover a retro bar with something special to offer.

Decked out in orange and purple with plastic seating, a Pac-Man machine, and funky wall art, the venue feels like a set piece from an Austin Powers movie or a bar from a cult sci-fi film. On quiet nights, the staff will chat to you as though you’re friends, and they are knowledgeable enough to make ‘BJ’ a worthwhile destination on the city’s outer circle of watering holes. Alongside a fully stocked fridge of pricey European beer and lager bottles, the bar runs a tempting cocktail menu of classics that are rattled together with flair and a dizzyingly strong kick of alcohol.

Food is certainly not the bar’s selling point, but a basic selection of sandwiches is served all week, with the addition of burgers on Thursdays and Fridays that come with homemade chips and coleslaw for a fiver.

While usually fairly sedate on weekday evenings, Jupiter comes to life at the weekend. Club nights such as Tropical Hotdog (‘eclectic music you can dance to’) draw out Leeds’ trendy social butterflies, and monthly reggae and ska night Two Sevens Party has a cult following among those bored of the boom-tish monotony of the city’s more popular venues. There’s nothing even slightly pretentious about this fun-loving, laid-back, and pretty darn weird bar, but we’re not going to give you the directions: you’ll find it when it wants you to.